DOCSLIB.ORG

NPE Process User Guide

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
NPE Process User Guide NPE Process Guide for Hospitals National Patient Experience Survey Process Guide for Hospitals NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals National Patient Experience Survey Process Guide Reference No: 001_PG Revision No: 04 Author: National Patient Experience Survey team Approved by: Rachel Flynn, Director of Health Information and Standards Effective from: May 2019 Review date: May 2021 NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals National Patient Experience Survey contact details For queries regarding the hospital sub-processes, please contact: Contact: Yvonne Cantwell (ICT Senior Projects Manager, HSE) Email: [email protected] Phone: 087 2431237 Contact: June Boulger, HSE Lead, National Patient Experience Survey Programme Email: [email protected] Phone: 086 8069829 NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals Table of contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 5 1.1 What is the National Patient Experience Survey?.................. ............................................. 5 1.2 How does the survey work? ............................................................................................. 5 1.3 What role do hospitals play in implementing the NPE Survey? ............................................ 5 2. NPE Contact Dataset .............................................................................. 6 2.1 NPE Eligibility Criteria ...................................................................................................... 6 2.2 What information should the NPE Contact Dataset contain? ............................................... 7 3. Identification, inclusion and uploading of eligible participants’ data .... 8 3.1 What role do hospitals play? ............................................................................................ 8 3.2 NPE Hospital Names and Codes ..................................................................................... 11 3.3 Security arrangements ............................................................................................... 12 4. Opt out process .................................................................................... 14 4.1 What role do hospitals play in the opt out process? ......................................................... 14 4.2 Opting out following discharge ....................................................................................... 14 5. A Review of Death Notifications .......................................................... 15 6. Review of data quality ......................................................................... 19 6.1 Duplicates .................................................................................................................... 22 6.2 Template for Quality Assurance Checks before sending the file ........................................ 22 NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals 1. Introduction 1.1 What is the National Patient Experience Survey? The National Patient Experience (NPE) Survey is conducted on an annual basis. The purpose of the survey is to learn from patients’ feedback in order to improve hospital care. The National Patient Experience Survey falls under the National Care Experience Programme which is a partnership approach between the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health. 1.2 How does the survey work? Eligible participants will receive a survey pack two weeks after discharge. This is followed by a reminder letter four weeks after discharge and a further and final survey pack six weeks after discharge. Participants can complete the survey online or by returning the survey in the post. The core National Patient Experience (NPE) team is based in HIQA. HIQA has contracted a market research company B&A (Behaviour and Attitudes), to manage the collation of eligible participants’ contact data and distribution of surveys. HIQA is responsible for managing this service. 1.3 What role do hospitals play in implementing the NPE Survey? Between 1 and 31 May, hospitals will be responsible for: . identifying and entering eligible participants in the NPE Contact Dataset . quality assuring data contained in the NPE Contact Dataset . uploading the NPE Contact Datasets to B&A on a weekly basis . opting patients out of the survey in hospital, if requested to do so. Page 5 of 26 NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals 2. NPE Contact Dataset The NPE Contact Dataset will consist of patients who are eligible to participate in the survey. Each hospital will identify eligible patients through the Patient Administration System (PAS). 2.1 NPE Eligibility Criteria Eligible participants must: - be discharged between 00:01 on 1 May and 23:59 on 31 May - be aged 16 years or over - have stayed 24 hours or more in a public acute hospital - hold a postal address in the Republic of Ireland The following should not be included in the NPE Contact Dataset – please double check your extraction codes to ensure they are not included: - deceased patients - persons under the age of 16 years at the time of sampling (patients born after 1st May 2003 should not be included) - obstetrics/maternity service users (gynaecology patients are included in this survey - psychiatry patients - outpatients/day-case patients - patients who stayed in hospital for less than 24 hours - participants who reside in a prison institution - patients who do not have a postal address in the Republic of Ireland Page 6 of 26 NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals 2.2 What information should the NPE Contact Dataset contain? Name Format First name e.g. Ciara Family name e.g. Murphy Address line 1 Current address Address line 2 Current address Address line 3 Current address, if applicable Address line 4 Current address, if applicable Address line 5 Current address, if applicable Date of birth dd/mm/yyyy Gender Female/Male Date of admission dd/mm/yyyy Source of admission category Emergency/non-emergency Date of Discharge dd/mm/yyyy a) transfer to other hospital Discharge destination b) home/usual residence c) nursing home d) other Length of stay XX days Hospital group e.g. Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. Hospital name For example, Naas General Hospital NPE hospital code For example, NGH Table 1: NPE Contact Dataset - data fields and format NB: All fields must contain the data items above in the format set out in the above table. Page 7 of 26 NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals 3. Identification, inclusion and uploading of eligible participants’ data All NPE Contact Datasets should be uploaded to your sFTP (secure File Transfer Protocol) as per the schedule below in Table 2. If they are not received by 9am every Wednesday morning from 8 May to 5 June inclusive, they cannot be included in the survey run for that week. Yvonne Cantwell and her team will export the NPE Contact Datasets to B&A at 9am on Wednesday 8, 15, 22 and 29 May and 5 June. Date of Task for hospitals Deadline for upload of extraction contact dataset Tuesday 7 May Extract for discharges 1–5 May Upload contact dataset by inclusive. 9am on 8 May Tuesday Extract for discharges 6–12 May Upload contact dataset by 14 May inclusive. 9am on 15 May Tuesday Extract for discharges 13–19 May Upload contact dataset by 21 May inclusive. 9am on 22 May Tuesday Extract for discharges 20–26 May Upload contact dataset by 28 May inclusive. 9am on 29 May Tuesday 4 June Extract for discharges 27–31 May Upload contact dataset by inclusive. 9am on 5 June Table 2: Schedule for extracting and submitting the NPE Contact Dataset 3.1 What role do hospitals play? Step 1: apply eligibility criteria . The designated person within each hospital will identify eligible participants by applying the following criteria. To be eligible, patients must: - be discharged between 00:01 on 1 May and 23:59 on 31 May - be aged 16 years or over - have stayed 24 hours or more in a public acute hospital - hold a postal address in the Republic of Ireland. Page 8 of 26 NPE Survey Process Guide for Hospitals . If the eligibility criteria are not adhered to, it will result in a data breach, which will be reported in line with the NPE’s Data Security Policy. Step 2: create weekly NPE Contact Dataset . Extract and upload eligible participants’ details to an Excel or CSV file, as per the fields in the NPE Contact Dataset outlined in Table 1 (page 7). Step 3: quality assure the data . Data quality checks are essential and are outlined in detail in Section 6. Review of Data Quality (page 19). Check all codes to ensure that only the details for eligible patients are extracted. Step 4: save and title the NPE Contact Dataset . The NPE Contact Dataset must be saved and titled appropriately. This step is crucial to ensure that each of your responses are attributed to your hospital. If the file code is not standardised, then the response will not appear under your hospital on the online dashboard. An NPE Survey code has been assigned to each hospital, which must be used in the filename. Hospital codes can be found in Table 3 (page 11/12). Files should be titled as follows: - your assigned hospital code_date of upload to B&A_QA e.g. Naas General Hospital: NGH_070519_QA . Ensure you include QA (Quality Assurance) at the end of your filename. This confirms to B&A that your NPE Contact Dataset has been quality assured and is ready for download. Step 5: upload NPE Contact Dataset to B&A . Send the NPE Contact Dataset to B&A, using secure File Transfer Protocol (sFTP). The data will be securely stored by
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Better Services for Patients Time 4 Us
    Health Matters Vol. 4 Issue 1 Spring 2008 Item Type Report Authors Health Service Executive (HSE) Rights Health Service Executive Ireland Download date 30/09/2021 21:58:05 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10147/45763 Find this and similar works at - http://www.lenus.ie/hse New Hygiene Vaccine Delivery HfH Premiers in Campaign Success Crumlin Patients to question staff New system saves money and Our Lady’s Hospital, Crumlin on hand washing improves safety launches HfH Programme p9 p15 p18 KdajbZ ) >hhjZ& Heg^c\ '%%- =ZVai]NationalbViiZgh Staff Newsletter of the Health Service Executive Integrated System Can Deliver Better Services for Patients Time 4 Us Parents in Galway enjoy more recent review of how public With this approach, health services > Increases in the number of day inpatients could be treated in an quality time with children hospitals admit, treat and (within and between hospital and cases (the average in Ireland is 12 alternative to an acute hospital). p 24 A discharge patients has found community) are connected together per cent below the OECD average); The review highlights that these that patients would spend less time in seamlessly, delays between services > More discharge planning (currently practices are already working well hospital, and receive a better service, if are reduced and patients receive a no discharge date is planned for 83 in a number of Irish hospitals and all public hospitals adopted practices better service. per cent of patients); introducing them to all public hospitals that are the norm in other advanced The review recommends: > Bringing patients into hospital on the could be done relatively quickly.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ombudsman and Public Hospitals
    The Ombudsman and the Public Hospitals The Ombudsman is Impartial Independent A free service 2 Who is the Ombudsman and what does the Ombudsman do? Peter Tyndall is the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can examine complaints about the actions of a range of public bodies, including public hospitals. All hospitals providing public health services come within the Ombudsman’s remit. The Ombudsman can examine complaints about how hospital staff carry out their everyday administrative activities when providing public health services. These include complaints about delays or failing to take action. However, there are certain complaints that the Ombudsman cannot examine. These include complaints about: private health care regardless of where it is provided and clinical judgment by the HSE (diagnoses or decisions about treatment Is the Ombudsman independent? Yes. The Ombudsman is independent and impartial when examining complaints. 1 What can I complain to the Ombudsman about? You can complain about your experience in dealing with a hospital. This might include, among other issues, a hospital: applying an incorrect charge failing to follow approved administrative procedures, protocols or reasonable rules failing to communicate clearly failing to seek your informed consent to a procedure keeping poor records failing to respect your privacy and dignity having staff who are rude or unhelpful or who discriminate against you being reluctant to correct an error failing to deal with your complaint in accordance with the complaints process. 2 Which
    [Show full text]
  • The Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme
    The Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme Overview 2007-2013 Foreword This report describes how care for people who die in Irish hospitals is planned and provided for; and how those processes evolved over the period 2007-2013. The report details a journey and we do not claim to have reached journey’s end. The ‘Hospice Friendly Hospitals’ (HFH) programme, as an aspiration or an idea, meets with very little resistance. Its aim - to transform the culture of hospital care for dying patients is a shared and transparent aim which we believe has now made its way into Irish discourse. While the aim may be agreeable, the means for change are not so straightforward. Culture change is not simple; the very founding premis being that those who are a part of and members of a particular culture are often the last to see what is good, and what is not so good about a system. Rather people carry on doing these good things and not so good things as they represent ‘the way things are done around here’. Culture is a powerful maintenance mechanism precisely because of its shared and unquestioned beliefs and values. THE HOSPICE FRIENDLY HOSPITALS PROGRAMME HOSPITALS THE HOSPICE FRIENDLY HFH set out to introduce newer ways of doing things, to (re)introduce core values, to question and unsettle some of the assumptions and to provide support, tools and forums. As an example, in her introduction to the HFH standards President Mary McALeese gave us a vision of a ‘care-full death’. We believe a narrative approach is crucial to communicate and record some of the complexity of this type of programme.
    [Show full text]
  • Minor Injury Clinics Rapid Access to Efficient and Convenient Treatment and Advice
    Minor Injury Clinics Rapid access to efficient and convenient treatment and advice www.irishlifehealth.ie Minor Injury Clinic Efficient and Convenient Minor injury clinics give rapid access to efficient and convenient treatment and advice on minor injuries including sports injuries such as fractures and dislocations and illnesses such as fever and infection. Our approved network of walk-in clinics Private covers 18 locations nationwide. HSE County Clinic Cork Affidea ExpressCare, The Elysian The Mercy Injury Unit, Gurranabraher Mallow Injury Unit, Mallow General Hospital Bantry Injury Unit, Bantry General Hospital Clare Ennis Injury Unit, Ennis Hospital Dublin Affidea ExpressCare, Tallaght, Dublin 24 Children’s Hospital Ireland at Connolly, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 Laya Health & Wellbeing Clinic, Cherrywood, Dublin 18 Mater Smithfield Rapid Injury Clinic, Dublin 7 St. Columcille’s Injury Unit, Loughlinstown Affidea ExpressCare Northwood, Santry, Dublin 9 Galway Laya Health & Wellbeing Clinic, Briarhill, Galway Kildare Affidea ExpressCare at Vista Primary Care Centre Limerick St. John’s Injury Unit, St. John’s Hospital Louth Dundalk Injury Unit, Louth County Hospital Monaghan Monaghan Injury Unit, Monaghan Hospital Roscommon Roscommon Injury Unit, Roscommon University Hospital Tipperary Nenagh Injury Unit, Tyone Clinic Opening Hours Affidea ExpressCare Times may vary due to Covid-19 pandemic Affidea Naas is closed until further notice Laya Health and Wellbeing Clinics Open 365 days a year 10am to 10pm CHI Urgent Care Centre Open 10am to 5pm Mon-Fri HSE Injury Units Opening times vary, see hse.ie What’s Treated Below is a list of the type of issues that are treated in a Minor Injury Clinic. For confirmation that they can treat your injury and any age restrictions, we recommended you check directly with the clinic in advance.
    [Show full text]
  • Management Data Report September 2020
    September 2020 Management Data Report Heat Map: Performance RAG Rating Finance RAG Rating HR - Absence HR - Indicative Workforce Red > 10% of target Red • ≥ 0.75% Red • > 4% Red • > 1.5% of target Amber > 5% ≤ 10% of target Yellow/Amber • ≥ 0.10% to < 0.75% Amber • ≥3.7%<4.0% Amber • > 0.5% ≤1.5% of target Green ≤ 5% of target Green • < 0.10% Green • <3.7% Green • ≤ 0.5% of target Grey No result expected Contents Acute Hospitals Services Population Health and Wellbeing Data Coverage Issues NSP KPI Overview 4 Population Health and Wellbeing (metrics are quarterly) 92 Data coverage issues Acute Services 188 Inpatient Cases 8 Community Healthcare Services Data coverage issues Community Healthcare 190 Daycase Cases 10 Primary Care 96 Emergency Discharges 12 Social Inclusion 106 Elective Discharges 14 Palliative Care 109 Maternity Discharges 16 Mental Health 111 Inpatient Discharges greater or equal to 75 years 17 CAMHS Waiting List 116 Daycase Discharges greater or equal to 75 years 19 Older Persons 117 Level GI 21 Disabilities 121 Level dialysis 23 National Services Level chemo 24 PCRS 124 Inpatient & Day Case Profiles 26 National Screening Service All Emergency Presentations 28 National Screening Service 128 New ED Attendances 30 Finance Return ED Attendances 31 Gross Debtor Days for Private Charges 130 Injury Units 32 Service Level Arrangements 131 Other Emergency Presentations 33 Net Expenditure by Division 132 Births 34 Hospital Groups 133 Outpatient Attendances (New & Return) 35 CHOs 136 Adult In Patient Waiting List 37 National
    [Show full text]
  • Urgent and Emergency Care Provision in Ireland
    Urgent and emergency care provision in Ireland What is urgent and emergency care? Urgent and emergency care consists of all the services which contribute to the management of people when immediate care is sought for a health condition along with the processes in place for referring patients between services. When patients need immediate care they can enter the health system through a range of services and will often use more than one. Ideally these services would be highly co-ordinated to ensure the time to definitive care is reduced and waste such as inappropriate use of emergency departments is avoided. Current provision in Ireland A wide range of services, public and private, provide emergency and urgent care in Ireland. The services within the emergency and urgent care system (EUCS) include General Practice (GP) (including out-of-hours GP co-operatives), emergency departments (EDs), urgent care centres, acute medical units (AMUs), minor injury units, ambulance services (provided by Dublin Fire Brigade and the National Ambulance Service), and pharmacies. When patients need immediate care, they can enter the health system through a range of services and will often use more than one in a single episode of illness. For example, they may phone an out-of-hours GP, be transferred by ambulance to an ED and be admitted to hospital. The combination of these services are defined as an EUCS. The provision of effective emergency and urgent care is critically dependent on all elements of the EUCS of a healthcare system (figure 1). A well-performing EUCS should improve the chances of survival in a patient with an emergency condition and an urgent condition should ideally be managed by a well- performing EUCS without admission to an inpatient bed.
    [Show full text]
  • National Patient Experience Survey Findings of the 2018 Inpatient Survey
    National Patient Experience Survey Findings of the 2018 inpatient survey @NPESurvey /NPESurvey FINDINGS OF THE 2018 INPATIENT SURVEY - NATIONAL PATIENT EXPERIENCE SURVEY 2018 Thank you! Thank you to everyone who participated in the National Patient Experience Survey 2018, and to your families and carers. Without your overwhelming support and participation the survey would not have been possible. The survey ensures that your voice will be heard by the people who can change and improve healthcare in Ireland. By putting the voice of the patient at the centre of acute healthcare, we can make sure that the needs and wishes of the people who matter most are met. This is the second time the survey has been run, and a number of positive changes since the first survey in 2017 have already been identified. Thank you also to the staff of all participating hospitals for contributing to the success of the survey, and in particular for engaging with and informing patients while the survey was ongoing. The survey was overseen by a national steering group and an advisory group. We acknowledge the direction and guidance provided by these groups. Appendix 1 lists the members of these groups and the core project team. 3 NATIONAL PATIENT EXPERIENCE SURVEY 2018 - FINDINGS OF THE 2018 INPATIENT SURVEY 40 participating hospitals 2 6 8 10 26 7 3 9 11 27 5 39 29 30 34 28 33 40 31 1 4 37 38 36 14 15 32 13 12 16 19 23 35 24 25 20 22 18 21 17 4 FINDINGS OF THE 2018 INPATIENT SURVEY - NATIONAL PATIENT EXPERIENCE SURVEY 2018 Saolta University Health South/South West Hospital Group Care Group 17.
    [Show full text]
  • Hospital DPO Email [email protected]
    Hospital DPO Email Bantry General Hospital [email protected] Beaumont Hospital Dublin [email protected] Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital [email protected]; [email protected] Cavan General Hospital [email protected] Children's Health Ireland at Connolly in Blanchardstown [email protected] Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin [email protected]; [email protected] Children’s Health Ireland at Tallaght [email protected] Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street [email protected] Connolly Hospital [email protected] Cork University Hospital/CUMH [email protected] Croom Orthopaedic Hospital [email protected] Ennis Hospital [email protected] Kerry General Hospital [email protected] Letterkenny University Hospital [email protected] Lourdes Orthopaedic Hospital, Kilcreene [email protected] Louth County Hospital [email protected] Mallow General Hospital [email protected] [email protected] -subject access requests, [email protected] - Mater Misericordiae University Hospital general data protection related enquiries Mayo University Hospital [email protected] Mercy University Hospital [email protected] Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar [email protected] Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise [email protected] Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore [email protected] Monaghan Hospital [email protected] Naas General Hospital [email protected] National Maternity Hospital [email protected] Nenagh Hospital [email protected] Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda [email protected] Our Lady's Hospital, Navan [email protected] Portiuncula University Hospital [email protected] Roscommon University Hospital [email protected] Rotunda Hospital [email protected] Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital [email protected] Sligo University Hospital [email protected] South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital [email protected] South Tipperary General Hospital [email protected] St Columcille's Hospital [email protected] St Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny [email protected] St Michael's Hospital, Dun Laoghaire [email protected] St Vincent’s University Hospital [email protected]; [email protected] St.
    [Show full text]
  • Findings of the 2017 Inpatient Survey
    The National Patient Experience Survey Findings of the 2017 inpatient survey /NPESurvey @NPESurvey Findings from the 2017 Inpatient Survey National Patient Experience Survey Programme Thank you to the people who participated in the National Patient Experience Survey 2017, and to their families and carers. Without your overwhelming support and participation the survey would not have been possible. The Thank survey ensures that your voice will be heard by the people who can change and improve healthcare in Ireland. By putting the voice of you! the patient at the centre of acute healthcare, we can make sure that the needs and wishes of the people who matter most are met. The survey will be repeated annually, which will allow us to explore how the patient voice has helped shape changes in acute healthcare. Thank you to the staff of all participating hospitals for contributing to the success of the survey, and in particular for engaging with and informing patients while the survey was ongoing. The survey was overseen by a national steering group, a delivery group and an advisory group. We acknowledge the direction and guidance provided by the members of these groups. The members of these groups are listed in Appendix 1. 3 Findings from the 2017 Inpatient Survey National Patient Experience Survey Programme 4 Findings from the 2017 Inpatient Survey National Patient Experience Survey Programme 40 participating hospitals RCSI Hospital Group 7. Beaumont Hospital Saolta Hospital Group 8. Cavan and Monaghan Hospital Group 1. Galway University Hospital 9. Connolly Hospital 2. Letterkenny University Hospital 10. Louth County Hospital 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Beds Report September 2020
    Open Beds Report September 2020 Published 9 December 2020 An Roinn Sláinte | Department of Health Open Beds Report — September 2020 Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Data source and validation 3 1.2 Bed capacity context 3 1.3 Definitions and clarifications 3 2. Inpatient beds by year 2009 – 2020 ............................................................. 5 3. Day beds/places by year 2009 – 2020 .......................................................... 6 4. Inpatient and day beds/places by month for 2020 .................................... 7 Appendix. Available Beds Tables ......................................................................... 8 —— 2 An Roinn Sláinte | Department of Health Open Beds Report — September 2020 1. Introduction The Open Beds Report provides an outline of the average numbers of open inpatient beds and day beds/places in the acute hospital system on a monthly basis. As set out in the Sláintecare Action Plan 2019, the Department of Health is committed to fostering the support of citizens and stakeholders in the Sláintecare reform process, consulting them about its delivery, and informing them about progress through engagement and open reporting. In line with this commitment to open reporting, the purpose of the Open Beds Report is to make information on capacity in the health care system available in a transparent and accessible manner. 1.1 Data source and validation The Health Service Executive (HSE) Acute Business Information Unit (Acute BIU) provide the bed data for this report, and the figures show the average number of beds or places open in each hospital for the month or year specified. Data for 2020 are provisional and remain subject to validation by Acute BIU. The 2018 and 2019 figures for Galway University Hospital are also awaiting validation.
    [Show full text]
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    Frequently Asked Questions The Establishment of Hospital Groups as a Transition to Independent Hospital Trusts A report to the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly TD February 2013 What is in the report on the establishment of hospital groups? The report on the Establishment of Hospital Groups as a Transition to Independent Hospital Trusts contains recommendations to the Minister for Health Dr James Reilly T.D. on merging the acute hospitals in Ireland into groups. How was the report produced? The report was produced by a panel of national and international experts. It was informed by consultation, including face-to-face meetings with; management and senior clinicians from hospitals, health agencies and clinical programmes, patient advocates and others, as well as data analysis. Why is it necessary to change how our hospitals work? Quality, patient safety, access and value for money are the principles on which current health policy is based. Within that policy, health services aim to provide efficient and effective care, as close to the patient’s home as possible, with a view to improved health outcomes and satisfaction for patients. Ours is a small country with increasing demands on our healthcare system. These demands include an ageing population, increased public expectations and inequalities in access to care. The changing nature of healthcare - new technologies and clinical specialisation and greater financial and regulatory pressures from national and international bodies - add further challenges. The traditional practice of providing as many services as possible in every hospital is neither sustainable nor safe. Experience in Ireland and beyond teaches us that a co- ordinated system of care is better for patients than a more sporadic approach.
    [Show full text]
  • The Establishment of Hospital Groups As a Transition to Independent Hospital Trusts
    The Establishment of Hospital Groups as a transition to Independent Hospital Trusts A report to the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, TD The Establishment of Hospital Groups as a Transition to Independent Hospital Trusts A report to the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly TD Published February 2013 Minister’s Foreword When I launched Future Health: A Strategic Framework for Reform of the Health Service 2012-2015 on 15th November 2012, I stated that I am determined to press ahead with the key health system reforms that we promised in the Programme for Government. These reforms will improve the system, allow staff to work more effectively and, most importantly, deliver better healthcare for patients and all users of our health service. The future organisation of our acute hospitals is a part of those reforms and a major policy issue for the Government. I am pleased to publish the Report on the Establishment of Hospital Groups as a transition to Independent Hospital Trusts. I wish to acknowledge the excellent work done by Professor Higgins, the Project Team and the Strategic Board in the preparation of this report. I would also like to express my appreciation to those organisations and individuals who contributed to the development of the report through the Project Team’s extensive consultation process. The overarching aim of the wider health system reform programme is to deliver a single-tier health system based on Universal Health Insurance (UHI), underpinned by the principle of social solidarity, with equitable access based on need and not on ability to pay. In preparation for the introduction of UHI, a new financing system, Money Follows the Patient (MFTP), will be introduced.
    [Show full text]